Saturday, March 30, 2013

It was now necessary to proceed to the choice of a Superior. Hitherto they had none, for Ignatius abstained from all supremacy or dictation; on every point (except the name) the opinion of all the members was asked; when government was necessary, they exercised it in turn.

Now that they were recognized as an order, they required a head; and in the Easter of 1541, Ignatius summoned all to Rome who 1541. could come, the others were to send their vote in writing.

Only five could be collected; Brouet came from Sienna, Laynez from Parma, Le Jay from Brescia, Bobadilla was at Bisignano, in the kingdom of Naples; there the inhabitants petitioned the Pope that they might retain him, and the Pope forbade him to return. He had not time to send his written vote, but afterwards declared that he should have chosen like the rest.

In prospect of this election, Xavier and Rodriguez had left their votes sealed up at Rome. Faber sent his, copied twice over, for fear of accident, from Worms, where he was attending at the Diet. Those who could come, reached Rome as soon as possible, because there was much to do.

They had desired their Father Ignatius to form a plan for them—this was now considered, closely examined and adopted. Then the election was deferred till April 7, that all might pass three days in prayer, abstaining from consulting with one another. On the 7th the sealed papers were opened. Ignatius Ignatius was named by all.

Link (here) to read the full account of St. Ignatius of Loyola's election as the Superior General of The Society of Jesus

Friday, March 29, 2013

Catholic universities across the United States say they would tell
student groups distributing condoms on

campus to stop and would
potentially threaten disciplinary action, just as Boston ­College did
earlier this month.

At BC, officials sent a letter to a student group that organized
­condom pickup spots on campus, citing the university’s mission as a
Catholic institution and demanding that they cease or face possible
discipline. The letter provoked ­angry reaction from some students and
the local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, which said it
might pursue legal action.

Officials at Catholic colleges and universities — including the
University of Notre Dame, Georgetown University, the University of
Dayton, Providence College, and the Catholic University of America —
said that their policies similarly do not allow students to distribute
condoms on campus and that students who do so could face disciplinary
­action.“One of the teachings of our faith is that contraception is morally
unacceptable,” said ­Victor Nakas, a spokesman for Catholic University.
“Since condoms are a form of contraception, we do not permit their
distribution on campus.”

Link (here)What is wrong with contraception? Go (here) and find out why.

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Jesuits, most of whom take a special vow of obedience to the pope in
matters of mission, have, ironically,

had a sometimes rocky relationship
with Rome over the centuries. There are a lot of reasons for that, too
many to go into.

Most recently, in the early 1980s, the Vatican
intervened in the internal governance of the Society; it was thought
that the Jesuits had grown a little too comfortable with liberal
democracy and/or Marxist ideology. That the cardinals would even
consider choosing a Jesuit now, I thought, marked a new beginning in
that relationship.

It is, one prays, a moment of reconciliation......As is the custom, sometime in the next few days the superior general of
the Society of Jesus, Adolfo Nicolás, will walk the short distance from
the Jesuit headquarters here in Rome past the “hot dog” stand to the
Apostolic Palace, where he will meet with the new pope and, in the
traditional way, assure him of the Society’s commitment to serve the See
of Peter. In a unique way, on that particular occasion, Father General
will carry not only the promise of our filial obedience to the new holy
father, but our fraternal love for our brother Jesuit and, if you’ll
permit me to say so, our pride.

Link (here) to America Magazine to the piece by Fr. Matt Malone, S.J. What is Liberation Theology ? (here)Who is Fr. John Sabrino, S.J. ? (here)

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Pope Francis is “a Jesuit’s Jesuit” who
understands the importance of St. Francis of Assisi in the life of St.
Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus, said the Jesuits’
secretary for the promotion of the faith.

U.S. Jesuit Father Gerald Blaszczak told Catholic News Service March
15 that while most Jesuits were shocked that a Jesuit was elected pope,
“any Jesuit worth his salt” would not be surprised that the pope took
the name of St. Francis of Assisi.

Pope Francis, the former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos
Aires, Argentina, entered the Jesuit novitiate in 1958 and was ordained
to the priesthood in 1969. He had been novice master and, from 1973 to
1979, was the Jesuit provincial for Argentina.

Father Blaszczak said Pope Francis’ training and priesthood as a
Jesuit “tell you that he’s been steeped in Ignatian spirituality,” has
had “a top-notch secular education” and that “his formation has always
put him in touch with real people in real-life situations,” which he
then has reflected upon in an effort to identify the ways God was
present.

“That
he chose the name Francis signals to us where he’s from, what he’s
about and what he believes the reform of the church is going to require:
It’s not going to require moral muscle, it’s not going to require just
philosophical analysis; it’s going to require an engagement with the
person of Christ,” particularly through the Scriptures, he said. “But
it’s going to be the Christ poor and humble.”

While some people thought maybe Pope Francis took his name thinking
also of the great Jesuit St. Francis Xavier, Father Blaszczak said
Jesuits know just how important the life, example and spirituality of
St. Francis of Assisi was in the conversion of their founder, St.
Ignatius, and in the development of what has come to be known as
Ignatian spirituality. St. Ignatius, who lived 1491-1556, was from a Spanish noble family.
After being wounded in battle, he began reviewing his life and thinking
about his future. Father Blaszczak said he saw his choices as life and a
career in the royal court or a life spent imitating St. Francis of
Assisi.

Friend of the Humble Supper at Emmaus

First keep thyself in peace, and then shalt thou be able to be a
peacemaker towards others. A peaceable man doth more good than a
well-learned. A passionate man turneth even good into evil and easily
believeth evil; a good, peaceable man converteth all things into good.
He who dwelleth in peace is suspicious of none, but he who is
discontented and restless is tossed with many suspicions, and is neither
quiet himself nor suffereth others to be quiet. He often saith what he
ought not to say, and omitteth what it were more expedient for him to
do. He considereth to what duties others are bound, and neglecteth those
to which he is bound himself. Therefore be zealous first over thyself,
and then mayest thou righteously be zealous concerning thy neighbour.

2. Thou knowest well how to excuse and to colour thine own deeds, but
thou wilt not accept the excuses of others. It would be more just to
accuse thyself and excuse thy brother. If thou wilt that others bear
with thee, bear thou with others. Behold how far thou art as yet from
the true charity and humility which knows not how to be angry or
indignant against any save self alone. It is no great thing to mingle
with the good and the meek, for this is naturally pleasing to all, and
every one of us willingly enjoyeth peace and liketh best those who think
with us: but to be able to live peaceably with the hard and perverse,
or with the disorderly, or those who oppose us, this is a great grace
and a thing much to be commended and most worthy of a man.

3. There are who keep themselves in peace and keep peace also with
others, and there are who neither have peace nor suffer others to have
peace; they are troublesome to others, but always more troublesome to
themselves. And there are who hold themselves in peace, and study to
bring others unto peace; nevertheless, all our peace in this sad life
lieth in humble suffering rather than in not feeling adversities. He who
best knoweth how to suffer shall possess the most peace; that man is
conqueror of himself and lord of the world, the friend of Christ, and
the inheritor of heaven.

Link (here) to The Imitation of Christ chapter 3 entitled, Of The Good, Peaceable Man

Lorenzo Viganò, a Jesuit biblical scholar, has declared in an interview that his brother "lied to Ratzinger when he asked
to remain in Rome because he had to take care of me, sick". According
to what has been written, to oppose the transfer to Washington, Carlo Maria Viganò allegedly wrote to Pope Ratzinger saying that he could not
leave on account of the "necessary, dutiful and direct assistance" that
engaged in towards his brother. Lorenzo, who lives in Chicago, says in
the interview that he is fine, and has not spoken with his brother for
two years, due to "tensions on account of our inheritance". And he says,
"it is very serious that Carlo Maria has written falsely to the Pope,
instrumentalizing me for personal ends".

Monday, March 25, 2013

The Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities announced
yesterday that Rev. Michael J. Sheeran, the former president of Regis
University, will become the group's new president.

The organization
represents the nation's 28 Jesuit colleges, Father Sheeran was president of Regis for 20 years and oversaw the development of the college's online programs.

Father Gregory Lucey, the previous president of the group, will
return to Spring Hill College as chancellor. Father Lucey served as
president of Spring Hill before he became president of the Jesuit
college group in 2011.

David Clohessy said Pope Francis has to take up the issue of sexual abuse by priests and hold them accountable."Gestures,
like taking the name Francis, or carrying your own luggage, or living
in a small apartment, however encouraging they might be, we can't as
responsible adults be so moved by these positive first impressions that
we forget about the children who are being assaulted, right here and
right now,"

Clohessy said. Recalling a friend who as a child
had been sexually abused by a Jesuit priest in St. Louis (a school that
Clohessy's father attended), he said, "I've talked to many who've gone
to Jesuit schools and feel incredibly grateful about the education they
got." Clohessy then added, "and yet their positive memories and
their positive feelings towards their school are now completely
polluted by the fact that they know that one or two or five other
classmates were undergoing this horror while they were flourishing and
learning and thriving and making lifelong bonds of friendship."

He tried to keep his composure as he answered, but his handkerchief could not hold back the tears. "I cry every single day," Clohessy said.

Sunday, March 24, 2013

In April 2005 a group of Jesuits were celebrating mass at St. Beuno’s, an Ignatian spirituality center in Wales, literally while
crowds at the Vatican were waiting to see who would be the new pope, up
on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica. Of course, near the end of the
Liturgy of the Word, the celebrant priest at St. Beuno’s would have to
pray for the pope. But on this day, the celebrant didn’t know which pope
he was going to pray for. So he had an assistant wait outside the
chapel, watching the Vatican coverage live on TV. The assistant was
planning to alert the priest, during the mass, of the new pope’s name,
as soon as he appeared on the balcony. So, indeed, at some point early
in the liturgy, the assistant tiptoed into the chapel with a little
folded note bearing the name of the new pope.

The celebrant stopped and
opened the note. Then his face went pale, and he closed it. When he
finally got to the intercessory prayers, he grumbled, “…and for our
Pope, Joseph Ratzinger, Benedict the, uh, [looking down at the note]
16th, Lord help us.”

Many Jesuits backed liberation theology, which led
Pope John Paul II in 1982 to appoint a staunch conservative in charge
of the order.All of this raises the question: what do Jesuits actually think about
the new pope? Not what do they say — because publicly, few of them say
anything but praise — but what is being whispered, at St. Beuno’s,
behind monastery walls, in university corridors — anywhere the Jesuits
have confidentiality?

Well, why not ask one? Certainly, some Jesuit
could give us a general idea. So, I called some media offices to try to
get an interview with a Jesuit who would speak candidly about what his
colleagues really think about Pope Francis. No takers. Why not? Well, a friend of mine had a theory: “if they do they lose
their pension, housing, insurance… everything they vowed away at age 16
or so….” That may or may not be true. It could also be the case that no
Jesuit is critical of the new pope.

Pope Francis is the first Latin American pope. He is also the first
jesuit to become pope. The Jesuits and Brazil have a long history which
the jesuits have certainly not forgotten. During the 18th century, it was from Brazil that the jesuits were first
expelled. The frontier between Brazil and what would later become
Argentina was one of the key locations of the conflict which pitted the
jesuits against the crowns of Portugal and Spain.

The Treaty of Madrid, of 1750, was the first negotiated settlement of
the land frontiers in South America between the two Iberian powers.
Portuguese claims to the inland frontier were upheld. In return they
ceded to Spain the Colonia do Sacramento, on the northern bank of the
rio de la Plata. The land of the seven jesuit missions, previously under the control of
Spain, would become Portuguese. The treaty envisioned the evacuation of
the Uruguayan jesuit missions and their Guarani neophytes, as well as
over a million head of cattle, across the Uruguayan river. The Jesuits
opposed this, and the jesuit missions took up arms. A joint Spanish and
Portuguese military force was sent to defeat them. Pombal, who was the principal minister in Lisbon, and his brother, who
was the governor of Para, were also in conflict with the jesuit missions
in the Amazon. As with the Guarani in the south, in the Amazon Pombal
intended to emancipate the Indians and to encourage their intermarriage
with European settlers. This collided with the most basic philosophical
tenet of the protectionist Indian policy of the jesuits. But Pombal was
supported by the Brazilian colonists with whom the jesuits had long been
in conflict over access to Indian labour. The Lisbon earthquake of 1755 aggravated the situation. In 1758, a
failed assassination of the king of Portugal provided Pombal with an
excuse to crack down on aristocratic and jesuit opposition.

The Jesuit Gabriel Malagrida was, in 1761, accused of complicity and was sentenced
by the Inquisition. He was the last person to be burnt at the stake in
Lisbon. Pombal sponsored a virulent public campaign throughout catholic Europe
against the Jesuits. In 1773, pope Clement XIV, a Franciscan friar,
suppressed the Jesuits.

When he died unexpectedly the following year it
was rumoured that he had inadvertently taken poison disguised in his
chocolate drink. Pope Francis knows this Jesuit history. As do the cardinals who elected
him. They joked that the new pope should take the title of Clement XV.

Saturday, March 23, 2013

I received with great joy the kind letter you sent me, in your name and that of the Society of Jesus, on the occasion of my election to the See of Peter, in which you assure me of your prayers for me and my apostolic ministry as well as your full disposition to continue serving - unconditionally - the Church and the Vicar of Christ according to the teachings of St. Ignatius Loyola.
My heartfelt thanks for this sign of affection and closeness, which I am happy to reciprocate, asking the Lord to illuminate and accompany all Jesuits, so that faithful to the charism received and following in the footsteps of the saints of our beloved Order, they may be evangelical leaven in the world in their pastoral action, but above all in the witness of a life totally dedicated to the service of the Church, the Spouse of Christ, seeking unceasingly the glory of God and the good of souls.
With these sentiments, I ask all Jesuits to pray for me and to entrust me to the loving protection of the Virgin Mary, our Mother in heaven, while as a sign of God's abundant graces, I give you the Apostolic Blessing with special affection, which I also extend to all those who cooperate with the Society of Jesus in her activities, those who benefit from her good deeds and participate in her spirituality.

Many local and national religious thinkers are debating on whether or not Pope Francis is still in the Jesuit order. Pope Francis has gathered much attention for being the first pope with a
Jesuit background. However, a disagreement has emerged between Jesuits
and other religious thinkers. Some are arguing that Pope Francis is
still a Jesuit, while others say he is not in the order anymore. According to the Rev. Peter Rogers, S.J., associate professor of
languages, Pope Francis is no longer subjected to the Jesuit order
because he became a bishop and was not under a superior’s orders. “St. Ignatius, when he founded the Society of Jesus in the 16th
century, had it in his rule that no Jesuit was to accept ecclesiastical
dignities, so that meant Jesuits were not to become bishops, cardinals
and such,” Rogers said.

The Rev. Stephen Rowntree, S.J., associate professor of philosophy, also supports the notion that Pope Francis is not in the Society of Jesus anymore.“He becomes a religious superior over his diocese and over his priests,”Rowntree said. “So, he is out of the chain of command of the Jesuits.”

National Catholic Reporter’s Thomas Reese, wrote in an article, titled
“Is Pope Francis still a Jesuit,” that Pope Francis is still a Jesuit,
according to canon law. According to Canon 705, a Jesuit can still be a
Jesuit, even as a bishop, and does not have to follow a Jesuit superior
when he becomes a bishop.

Father Franz Jalics and Father Orlando Yorio were living among the poor in a Buenos
Aires slum, an activity the dictatorship viewed as suspicious. They were
kidnapped and held in a secret prison, blindfolded, and shackled hand
and foot, for five months, before they were let go.

Father Yorio in 1977 wrote a detailed account of the kidnapping, in
which he questioned Father Bergoglio’s actions. He wrote that Father
Bergoglio made negative reports about their activities to local bishops
and claimed they were in the slums without his permission. He said Father Bergoglio urged them to leave the Jesuit order and then
had them expelled from the order just days before the kidnapping. It was
not possible to verify Father Yorio’s account, and experts in church
procedures questioned whether the order’s rules would have allowed
Father Bergoglio to expel a priest. Father Yorio’s sister, Graciela
Yorio, said in an interview last week
that Father Bergoglio had left the two priests “totally unprotected,”
which she said made them an easier target for the military.

In his statement, Father Jalics said that false information had
circulated in the church accusing the two priests of belonging to a
guerrilla group fighting the government, but he did not link Father
Bergoglio to that rumor campaign. “Before, I too tended to believe that we were the victims of having been
reported,” Father Jalics said in the statement. “By the late ’90s,
however, it became clear to me after many conversations that this
assumption was unfounded.” Link (here) to the New York Times

As an undergraduate at Loyola University in Los Angeles (now
Loyola-Marymount) in the 1950s, I took a course in classical Greek. I'll
never forget one day when my Jesuit professor waxed eloquently about
Socrates, comparing him to great Christian mystics like St. John of the
Cross and St. Teresa of Avila. There are good grounds for this view. In
Plato's Symposium, we hear about Socrates' frequent "trances,"
in which he would stand, sometimes for twenty-four hours, rapt in
contemplation, and then, when all was finished, return to normal life as
if nothing had happened. Friends and acquaintances learned not to interrupt him during these
events; he would simply not respond. Socrates also had a "voice" by his
side from his earliest years. In Plato's Apology, the history
of Socrates' trial for "corrupting the youth of Athens," Socrates
revealed that he had always followed a voice he heard from childhood,
which always gave warnings to keep him from evil. Aside from that
limitation, it left him completely free to do as he willed. Socrates
said that if there was anything evil awaiting him after death, he was
certain his voice would warn him. So, asked to choose his punishment,
and unwilling to leave his countrymen for exile, he chose execution.

Link (here) to the Catholic Education Resource Center to read the full article by Marquette University Professor Howard Kainz

Mike Quigley (IL-5) earned a law degree from the
Loyola University School of Law. He also served as an adjunct professor
of political science at Loyola University Chicago lecturing on politics,
the environment and local government. Quigley referred to a bill that
would have limited abortion to the first 20 weeks of pregnancy in
Washington, D.C., as “especially cruel.”

Zoe Lofgren (CA-19) graduated from the University of Santa Clara School of Law in 1975. Ranked 100 percent by NARAL, Rep. Lofgren reportedly voted against the ban on partial-birth abortion.

Sam Farr (CA-20) graduated from Willamette University
in Salem, Oregon, and attended the Monterey Institute of International
Studies and the University of Santa Clara. Rep. Farr voted against the ban on partial-birth abortion.

Pete Visclosky (IN-1) earned a Juris Doctoris from the
University of Notre Dame Law School, and a Master of Laws in
International and Comparative Law from Georgetown University Law Center.
He also earned a 100 percent NARAL rating in 2011. He also, according
to VoteSmart,
voted against a bill that would have prohibited abortions based on the
race or gender of the fetus and voted twice against the proposal to
block Planned Parenthood from receiving any federal funds.

Steny Hoyer (MD-5) earned his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C., in 1966. NARAL endorsed Rep. Hoyer in its 2012 Election Guide.

Chris Van Hollen (MD-8) is a graduate of the Georgetown University Law Center. On the House floor, VanHollen said,
“A woman’s right to choose her own healthcare is a fundamental one, and
the Congress should not tell women how to manage their health or
reproductive care.”

Ed Markey (MA-5) attended Boston College (B.A., 1968) and Boston College Law School (J.D., 1972). He reportedly voted against the partial-birth abortion ban.

Mike Capuano (MA-7) received a Bachelor of Arts from
Dartmouth College in 1973, and a law degree from Boston College Law
School in 1977. He was endorsed in the NARAL Pro-Choice Voter Guide.

Stephen Lynch (MA-8) graduated from Boston College
Law School in 1991. While Lynch states that he’s pro-life, he voted
against banning federal health coverage that includes abortion, he voted
for expanding embryonic stem cell research,and according to the
National Right to Life Committee, Lynch voted against the District of
Columbia Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act (H.R. 3803) that would
have restricted abortions after 22 weeks of pregnancy in Washington,
D.C. He received a 55 percent rating on a National Right to Life
scorecard, according to On the Issues.

Bill Keating (MA-9) attended Boston College where he
received his B.A. and Masters in Business Administration. Rep. Keating
earned a 100-percent score in NARAL Pro-Choice America's 2011
Congressional Record on Choice and earned the pro-abortion rights
group’s endorsement in 2012.

Gary Peters (MI-14) earned an M.B.A. in Finance from
the University of Detroit Mercy. Rep. Peters earned a 100-percent score
in NARAL Pro-Choice America's 2011 Congressional Record on Choice and
was endorsed by the abortion advocacy group in 2012.

John Dingell (MI-12) finished his military service
in the fall of 1946 to attend Georgetown University where he studied
chemistry. He continued his studies at Georgetown Law School, graduating
in 1952. Rep. Dingell earned a 100-percentscore in NARAL Pro-Choice
America's 2011 Congressional Record on Choice.

Dingell was quoted
saying, “I have voted to protect a woman's right to choose under Roe v.
Wade and will continue to fight to uphold this constitutionally
protected right.”

Bill Pascrell Jr. (NJ-9) earned a bachelor’s degree
in journalism and a master’s degree in philosophy from Fordham
University in the Bronx, N.Y. Rep. Pascrell has reportedly received 100 percent ratings from NARAL Pro-Choice America since 2006.

Tim Bishop (NY-1) holds a BA in History from Holy
Cross College in Worcester. Rep. Bishop earned a 100-percent score in
NARAL Pro-Choice America's 2011 Congressional Record on Choice.

Jerrold Nadler (NY-10) is a graduate of Columbia
University and Fordham Law School. Rep. Nadler earned a 100-percent
score in NARAL Pro-Choice America's 2011 Congressional Record on Choice.

Bill Owens (NY-21) is a 1974 graduate of Fordham
University School of Law. Rep.Owens earned a 100-percent score in NARAL
Pro-Choice America's 2011 Congressional Record on Choice. He reportedly voted against the Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act which would ban aborting children based on their sex.

David Cicilline (RI-1) earned a law degree from the
Georgetown University Law Center. Rep. Cicilline earned a 100-percent
score in NARAL Pro-Choice America's 2011 Congressional Record on Choice.

Peter Welch (VT) graduated magna cum laude from the
College of the Holy Cross in 1969. Rep.Welch earned a 100-percent score
in NARAL Pro-Choice America's 2011 Congressional Record on Choice. He
voted against banning sex-selective abortions.

Bobby Scott (VA-3) is a graduate of Boston College
Law School. Rep. Scott earned a 100-percent score in NARAL Pro-Choice
America's 2011 Congressional Record on Choice.

Jim Moran (VA-8) attended the College of the Holy
Cross and was awarded a B.A.in economics in1967. Rep. Moran earned a
100-percent score in NARAL Pro-Choice America's 2011 Congressional
Record on Choice. Jim Moran wrote just last year on the ProChoice Virginia
website, “I will continue to strongly advocate for abortion rights for
women. This is an issue of great personal conscience that should be free
of government interference. The Supreme Court has proclaimed its
legality; the rest should be left to a woman, her family and her
physician.”

Adam Smith (WA-9) graduated from Fordham University
in 1987 with a degree in Political Science. Rep. Smith earned a
100-percent score in NARAL Pro-Choice America's 2011 Congressional
Record on Choice and won Planned Parenthood’s endorsement in 2012.

Jared Huffman (CA-2) graduated cum laude from Boston
College Law School in 1990.As a state representative, Huffman earned a
100-percent rating from NARAL Pro-Choice California in 2009. According
to his campaign website, “Jared is firmly pro-choice and has a long
track record of fighting for women’s rights.”

Juan Vargas (CA-51) graduated magna cum laude with a
BA from the University of San Diego and earned an MA in Humanities from
Fordham University in New York.After college, Vargas, according to his website,
joined the Jesuit Novitiate (introduction) in Santa Barbara. After
leaving the Jesuits, he decided on law school and graduated in 1991 with
a JD from Harvard Law School, making him a classmate of President
Barack Obama. As a state senator, Vargas earned a 100-percent score from
NARAL Pro-Choice California from 2003 to 2006.

Lois Frankel (Fl-22) earned a law degree from
Georgetown University Law Center in 1973. NARAL Pro-Choice America PAC
endorsed Frankel. Frankel also touted the endorsement of Planned
Parenthood on her own campaign website.

John Delaney (MD-6) is a graduate of Georgetown
University Law School. NARAL described Delaney as “pro-choice” on their
website. According to OntheIssues.com, Delaney voted for public funding of abortion.

Ann Mclane Kuster (NH-2) graduated from Georgetown
University Law Center in 1984. She was endorsed by EMILY's List in 2012.
Kuster, according to a New Hampshire local news outlet,
“strongly supports a woman's right to choose. She has been endorsed
over her opponents in this campaign by every major pro-choice
organization.”

Hakeem Jeffries (NY-8) Jeffries holds a Master's Degree in Public Policy from Georgetown University. NARAL describes him as “pro-choice.”

Friday, March 22, 2013

.....receive the strength of the Spirit of God: believe in the power of
the Spirit! It is the Spirit of Jesus. Believe in Jesus who sends you
this Spirit – to you and all of us: He sends the Spirit to renew
everything. You are not fake Christians, Christians only in name. You
are Christians with your words, with your hearts, with your hands. Feel
like Christians, talk like Christians and do the work of Christians. But
you alone could not do it. It is Jesus who will give you this Spirit,
will give you the strength to renew everything: not you, but Him in you.
And with this thought of Jesus who is the only salvation, the only one
who brings us grace, who gives us peace, brotherhood, who gives us
salvation,

Link (here) to the full homily by His Eminence Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Archbishop of Buenos Aires, during the Holy Mass in which he administered the Sacrament of Confirmation Rome, 18 February 2012, Basilica of St Lawrence Outside the Walls

When Pope Francis stepped out onto the central loggia of St. Peter’s
on the night of March 13, I thought of the man I had met in his Buenos
Aires office 10 months before:

Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, SJ, who
was looking forward to laying down the burden of leadership and devoting
himself to prayer, reflection and study. Now, because Benedict XVI
decided to renounce the Chair of Peter and do what Cardinal Bergoglio
wanted to do, the old-school Argentine Jesuit is now Benedict’s
successor.

His acceptance of the cross that is the papacy was an act of
humble obedience by a man who had bent his will to the divine will for
over a half-century. What kind of man is he? Some impressions from an hour’s conversation last May:

A man of God. The new pope struck me then as someone
who lived from the inside out: a man whose rich interior life was the
basis of his public life; a leader whose decisions grew from prayer and
discernment, not calculation.

A man of profound humility. I had long been
interested in getting to know then-Cardinal Bergoglio, but I had the
hardest time getting him to talk about his own life and experiences. I
didn’t detect shyness in this, or false modesty, but a true evangelical
humility. Pope Francis will not have the effervescence of a John Paul
II; but like the Polish pope who created him cardinal, Jorge Bergoglio
has spent his life saying, not “Look at me,” but rather, “Look to Jesus
Christ.”

A man of keen and realistic intelligence. Pope
Francis is not the university professor that John Paul II and Benedict
XVI had been in their pre-papal lives. And while that model of
preparing-for-the-papacy served the Church well for 35 years, it’s not
the only possible model.

Now, rather than a professor who learned how to
be a pastor, the Church has been given a pastor who has long experience
of being a pastor. Nonetheless, I was struck last May by Bergoglio’s
sharp mind, his familiarity with issues throughout the world Church, and
his prudence in judging people and situations. He was, for example,
completely realistic and lucid about the Church’s situation in Latin
America.

Rather than complaining about evangelical Protestant
“sheep-rustling,” as more than a few Latin American churchmen do, the
archbishop spoke with insight and conviction about the imperative of
Catholicism rediscovering the power of the Gospel through personal
conversion to Jesus Christ.

Thursday, March 21, 2013

I asked John Allen, Jr.,
America’s most authoritative vaticanista,
what more he could tell us about Francis’ thinking and scholarly capacity,
especially since the new Holy Father has published comparatively little,
apparently preferring to spend time on the street with the poor and suffering
than theorizing about how to best serve them.

“My read is that being a man of
the people and being a thinker are not mutually exclusive,” Allen said. Allen thinks that because Francis
is a Jesuit—an order that requires its aspiring priests to study twice as long
as diocesan priests—his intelligence will be on bright display as pope:
“Whatever else you want to say about Jesuits, they’re typically not dim bulbs!”

John Allen, "He
tried to hold the line against liberation theology"

We have already heard several
clever quips from the new pope. He told journalists at his first press
conference that he considered taking the name Clement XV, to avenge himself on
Clement XIV, who suppressed the Jesuit order in 1773. After alluding to a book
by German Cardinal Walter Kasper during his first Angelus address, he added, “Don’t think that I’m publicizing the books of my
cardinals, that is not the case!” John Allen says that,
theologically speaking, Francis “profiles as the typical bishop from the
developing world…very conservative on matters of sexual morality, fairly
progressive on economic justice, armed conflict, [and] the environment.”

Under his episcopal leadership in
Buenos Aires, as provincial of his order, and as a two-term president of the
Argentinean Bishops Conference, Francis was known to oppose fiercely not only dissenting
intellectuals and political leaders, but also his fellow clerics.“As far as the Jesuits go, he
tried to hold the line against liberation theology in the 1970s, insisting that
his priests should be pastors and spiritual guides, not politicians,” Allen
said. “It made him unpopular in the order.Actually, one cardinal said to me
after the conclave: ‘Maybe it will take a Jesuit to fix the Jesuits!’”

Why is Pope Francis so simple, so genuine, so evidently filled with the love of Christ?Part of the answer may be… because God filled him with His love.

Part of the answer may lie in what seems to have been a sort of
mystical experience which occurred to Francis on September 21, 1953,
when he was 17 years old. We found out about this experience only today, in an official Vatican press release. But is has been almost entirely overlooked by the Vatican press corps.

One of the central claims of the Catholic faith is not only that God
exists, that He is real, but also that He can communicate with human
beings, that human beings can be “pierced” by the actual sense of the
divine presence, can experience and be aware of this real presence, can —
as the very first verse of the old Baltimore Catechism taught — “know”
God, then “love and serve Him.” Today in Rome, the Vatican released a statement about the new Pope’s coat-of-arms. But hidden in the statement was something that few knew up until now:
that there was a mystical experience at the origin of this Pope’s
religious life. That this Pope, at the age of 17, while deep in prayer, was touched by God. That this Pope, at the age of 17, was filled with the Spirit of God,
in a very special way, and given the grace to begin a life of total
commitment to God, which has ended up bringing his to the throne of St.
Peter, which he will receive in tomorrow morning’s Mass of installation. We know that many young people (all young people?) pass through
a period of time when they seek with great intensity to know their
place in this world — to hear their calling, to find their true vocation. And now we know that Pope Francis passed through this process of discernment, too. The homily of the Venerable Bede on the calling of St. Matthew “is a
tribute to the divine mercy and is reproduced in the Liturgy of the
Hours for the Feast of St. Matthew,” the Vatican told us today in a
press release. This homily “has a particular meaning in life and the spiritual journey of the Pope,” the Vatican said.

“In fact,” the Vatican continued, “on the Feast of St. Matthew [September 21] in the year 1953, the young Jorge Mario Bergoglio experienced at the age of 17 years, in a very special way, the loving presence of God in his life.'Following a confession, he felt his heart touched and sensed the
descent of the mercy of God, who with a look of tender love, called him
to the religious life, following the example of St. Ignatius of Loyola.'”

In these few, spare words, we are told of an experience which transformed the life of young Jorge. He felt his heart “touched” and he “sensed” the “descent of the mercy of God.” He felt, “in a very special way,” the “loving presence of God in his life.” He felt, we are told, as if God were gazing upon him, “with a look of tender love.”
These are all the elements of a personal experience of Christ.

An Argentinian silversmith, Juan
Carlos Pallarols, is handcrafting a simple silver chalice for Pope
Francis, which will be embossed with two images of the Blessed Mother:

Our Lady of Lujan, an Argentinian image of the Immaculate Conception, associated with a 17th century miracle, and Our Lady Undoer of Knots,
a German devotion which Cardinal Bergoglio brought to Argentina in the
1980′s and has since promoted there.

The same silversmith collaborated
with Cardinal Bergoglio in designing another chalice, embossed with the
image of Our Lady Undoer of Knots, which the Cardinal presented to Pope
Benedict shortly after he ascended to the Chair of St. Peter.

At the personal invitation of the Pope Francis, I went to the Santa
Marta House, which had been used for the Cardinals present at the
Conclave, at 5:30 p.m. He was at the entrance and received me with the
usual Jesuit embrace. We had a few pictures taken, at his request, and
at my apologies for not keeping protocol he insisted that I treat him
like any other Jesuit at the Tulevel, so I did not have to worry about treatments, 'Holiness' or 'Holy Father.'

I
offered him all our Jesuit resources because in his new position he is
going to need counsel, thinking, persons, etc. He showed gratitude for
this and at the invitation to visit us for lunch at the Curia he said he
would oblige. There was full commonality of feeling on several
issues that we discussed and I remained with the conviction that we will
work very well together for the service of the Church in the name of
the Gospel.

There was calm, humor and mutual understanding about
past, present and future. I left the place with the conviction that it
will be worth cooperating fully with Him in the Vineyard of the Lord. At
the end he helped me with my coat and accompanied me to the door. That
added a couple of salutes to me from the Swiss Guards there. A Jesuit
embrace, again, is a good way to meet and send off a friend.”

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Jesuit Archbishop Terrence Prendergast of Ottawa told Canadians last
week that while the new pope is all about ‘social justice’, it may not
be the flavor of social justice that people associate with Latin
America.Prendergast said that former Cardinal Bergoglio, as the Argentinean
Provincial at that time, took a “very strong stance that the Jesuits
should stay out of political issues and certainly not take up the
liberationist theology.”

Liberation theology, which uncritically borrows various currents of
Marxist thought, narrowly interprets the teachings of Jesus as they
relate to liberation from unjust conditions that may be economic,
political, or social.

In 1984, the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith headed
by then Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI), condemned liberation theology
as a “novel interpretation of both the content of faith and of
Christian existence which seriously departs from the faith of the Church
and, in fact, actually constitutes a practical negation.”

Archbishop Prendergast said that at the time, Cardinal Bergoglio was
criticized by his brother Jesuits for standing with the Church. “He was criticized by his brothers for that, but nonetheless his
stance was that — similar to Pope Benedict’s — Marxism goes beyond what
the social justice of the Church should embrace,” said the Archbishop
during an interview with CFRA 580 NewsTalkRadio.

Former Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio wrote in his 2011 book Sobre el cielo y la tierra
(On heaven and earth) that the Church is as opposed to economic
liberalism (economic decisions are made by individuals, not by
collective institutions or organizations) as it is to communism (an
atheistic system that abolishes private property to create a classless
social order).

“When you pick up a volume of the social teaching of the Church you
are amazed at what it condemns. For example, it condemns economic
liberalism. Everyone thinks that the Church is against Communism, but it
is as opposed to that system as it is to the savage economic liberalism
which exists today. That is not Christian either and we cannot accept
it.” “We have to search for equality of opportunities and rights, to fight
for social benefits, a dignified retirement, holidays, rest, freedom for
trade unions. All of these issues create social justice. There should
be no have-nots and I want to emphasize that the worst wretchedness is
not to be able to earn your bread, not to have the dignity of work,” he
wrote.

Reflecting on why then Cardinal Bergoglio would take such a stand,
Archbishop Prendergast said that it is one thing to “create an interest
in the poor and serve their cause” but that it is quite another thing to
“cause divisions in society” by “pitting rich against poor”. “If you cause divisions in society pitting rich against poor, you are
unfaithful to the Gospel because the Gospel calls us to be reconciled,
rich and poor, male and female, slave and free, are all to be one in
Christ. That’s the Church’s teaching,” he said.

My thoughts on the election of Pope Francis? Absolutely stunned. I only knew of the cardinal as the "other contender" in the previous conclave. What do I think now?

I am simply watching him and trying to learn what I can understand. I watched him give his sermon
in Italian to the cardinals Thursday in the Sistine Chapel. I
understood him to say that nothing we do means anything if we don't do
it as a disciple of Christ, in the name of Christ crucified. I resonated there with his Jesuit vocation.

What we Jesuits share is
the experience from the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius that we are
each personally called to follow Christ. The summons he received through
the Exercises, he was reminding his brother bishops, is the fundamental
call for each of us.

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Father Franz Jalics, a Hungarian-born priest living at a retreat in Bavaria,
southern Germany, said that he met Jorge Bergoglio years after his detention
and the pair “hugged solemnly” after celebrating Mass together in Argentina.Father Jalics said that he was arrested initially because one of his lay
helpers in a poor slum in Buenos Aires had joined the opposition guerrillas,
putting him and fellow priest, the late Father Orlando Yorio, under
suspicion. Father Jalics added that, after five days, one of his interrogators said that
he would be released, only for the two priests to be inexplicably kept
handcuffed and blindfolded in custody for five months. “I cannot make a statement on the role in these events of P. Bergoglio,”
Father Jalics said in his statement. His reluctance to give more details on his view of Cardinal Bergoglio’s role
in the events of 1976 is likely to fuel suspicions in the light of a
document discovered by the investigative journalist Horacio Verbitsky and
included in his book The Silence. Signed by a regime official, Anselmo Orcoyen, it suggests that Cardinal
Bergoglio was the source of information to the regime on Father Jalics. The
typewritten memo from December 1976 listed information on Father Jalics,
including “conflicts of obedience”, details of his six-month detention over
“suspected guerrilla contacts” and the priest’s refusal of orders to leave
the community in which he worked. The memo states that the information “was
supplied... by Father Bergoglio”.

Mr Verbitsky also quoted a letter written by Father Yorio in Rome in November
1977, in which the priest suggested that Card. Bergoglio was the man who had
denounced them. In his statement, Father Jalics said: “In 1974, moved by the inner desire to
live the gospel and raise awareness about the terrible poverty, and with the
permission of Archbishop Aramburu and the then Provincial Fr Jorge Mario
Bergoglio, I entered with a colleague into a favela [slum]. “We had no contact with the junta or the guerrillas… but we lost touch with
one of our lay collaborators, who joined the guerrillas.

“After nine months he was captured by the soldiers of the junta and
interrogated, and they found out that he was with us. On the assumption that
we were dealing with the guerrillas, we were arrested. “After a five-day interrogation, the officer in charge spoke these words:
‘Fathers, you have no guilt. I will therefore arrange that you can go back
to the slums.’ “Despite this commitment, we were then for some inexplicable reason kept in
custody for five months, blindfolded and handcuffed. I cannot make a
statement on the role in these events of P. Bergoglio.” Father Jalics then added that he was able to speak about these events many
years later when Father Bergoglio was Archbishop of Buenos Aires, without
giving details of their discussion. He ended his statement by declaring: “I wish Pope Francis God’s blessings for
his office.”

The Vatican on Friday rejected as “defamatory” claims that Pope Francis did
not do enough in his past to save two priests kidnapped and tortured by the
Argentinian military junta. “There has never been a credible, concrete accusation against him. The
Argentinian justice system... has never charged him with anything,” Vatican
spokesman Federico Lombardi said.

Monday, March 18, 2013

Argentine Jesuits in an undated photo with Holy Father Francis at the lower left corner (source)

In a 2005 profile of Cardinal Bergoglio, Jose Maria Poirier, editor of the Argentinean Catholic magazine Criterio, wrote, “He exercised his authority as Jesuit provincial with an iron fist, calmly demanding strict obedience and clamping down on critical voices. Many Jesuits complained that he considered himself the sole interpreter of St Ignatius of Loyola, and to this day speak of him warily.”

Father Bergoglio, like Pope John Paul II, had serious reservations
about liberation theology, which was embraced by many other Latin
American Jesuits. As a North American I have trouble understanding these
disputes since John Paul and Bergoglio obviously wanted justice for the
poor while the liberation theologians were not in favor of violent
revolution as their detractors claimed. But clearly this was an issue
that divided the church in Latin America.

Part of the problem was the use of the term “Marxist analysis” by some liberation theologians, when they sought to show how the wealthy
used their economic and political power to keep the masses down. The
word “Marxist,” of course, drove John Paul crazy. Meanwhile, the Latin
American establishment labeled as Communist anyone who wanted economic
justice and political power for workers. Even many decent but cautious
people feared that strikes and demonstrations would lead to violence.
What is “prudent” can divide people of good will.

There were also disagreements about how to respond to the military
junta in Argentina. As provincial, Father Bergoglio was responsible for
the safety of his men. He feared that Orlando Yorio, S.J., and Franz
Jalics, S.J., were at risk and wanted to pull them out of their
ministry. They, naturally, did not want to leave their work with the
poor.

Link (here) to The Fishwrapto read the full opinion piece by Fr. Thomas Reese, S.J.

"This choice moves the entire thread of our history," said Jesuit priest Giovanni La Manna, who heads the Astalli Foundation in Rome, a
Catholic nongovernmental organization for refugee rights. "If the Lord
has called the only Jesuit cardinal to become pope there must be a
reason, and I'm sure we'll understand later why." Perhaps it was just a matter of time
before a Jesuit was selected, as the Vatican itself is located near a
16th century fresco in the center nave of the Church of Jesus in Rome
where lie the remains of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the revered founder of
the Society of Jesus.

In his day, St. Ignatius was called on
by Pope Paul III to help reform a broken church that was combating
corruption and a waning influence. Experts believe that, last week,
another Jesuit was elected in a conclave to shepherd the Catholic Church
out of a crisis of credibility -- but, this time, directly as pope. The announcement left many Jesuits
dumbfounded as they heard the name of their only cardinal elector being
spelled out in Latin from the balcony on the night that white smoke
wafted over St. Peter's Square.

"It's just such incredible news
because Jesuits don't expect to become bishops, let alone the pope,"
said Fr. Gerard Whelan, Jesuit professor at the Gregorian University in
Rome. Indeed, popes have punished Jesuit theologians for being too progressive in preaching and teaching. The just-retired Benedict XVI,
sent a polite but firm letter inviting the order's worldwide members to
pledge "total adhesion" to church doctrine, including on divorce,
homosexuality and liberation theology. The order, which now comprises about
19,000 men worldwide, was founded by seven men who bonded together as
they took their first vows of chastity and poverty in Paris in 1534.

I guess the first thing to say is my kid would be in huuuuuuuuge trouble for doing this. But it's still kinda' awesome. Right after the election of the pope, NBC 10 in Philly wanted to
interview a Jesuit so they set up an interview with the Jesuit president
of St. Joseph's Prep in Philadelphia. The president of the school lined
up a bunch of students around him for the interview. Big mistake. One of the kids gives possibly one of the greatest wet willies to
another kid RIGHT ON CAMERA. It's completely inappropriate and kinda'
awesome. I know it's the eight year old in me but it's pretty funny.
There's talk that the kid might get suspended. Here's the thing - I
don't see these two things as mutually exclusive. Yes it's awesome but
that doesn't mean the kid shouldn't be punished. In life you make
tradeoffs. It's for the kid to decide whether it was worth it. This is one of those things that you punish them for and then when nobody can see you, you just laugh. Just a little.

Our new Holy Father took the name Francis at his own peril. A
potential schism in the Church erupted when two women argued this AM
about whether he meant St. Francis of Assisi or St. Francis Xavier, a
Jesuit. They settled that either one or both was fine. And this at my
parish of St. Francis of Assisi! Wheewww! I have another candidate for a Jesuit role model. The late Bishop John R. Sheets, SJ was one of the founders of the Jesuit publication
Communio.

He also taught Theology at Marquette as a young priest in the 1950's
where my wife was in his first Theology class (He gave her a "D" on a
critical paper!) .He taught with such fervor and love for Jesus, beads
of sweat would run from his forehead. We were married in 1960 and our
Father John remained a close friend and mentor on camping trips, playing
with the kids and taking him to retreats he was conducting in
California. He officiated at my daughter's wedding. He asked my wife and
I to lay hands on him and pray to the Holy Spirit for him. It was
surely the most humbling experience of my life! I recalled the event
when Pope Francis asked the people to pray for him before imparting his
blessing.

I add this background, because when Fr. John was at Marquette, he was
one of only two faculty members who refused to sign a petition against
Pope Paul VI's "Humanae Vitae." Pope John Paul the Great ordained him a
bishop and sent him to Notre Dame to try to stem her tide to secularism.
He was much loved in his tenure there, but probably had a greater
affect in some way helping launch the Franciscan University at
Steubenville. (Was this the precursor to this latest communion between
the Jesuits and the Franciscans?)

It is my sincere and prayerful hope that the late and saintly Bishop
Sheets will be a model for the restoration of the Church, and the order
through which Father Raymond Gawronski who also taught at Marquette more
recently and contributes to Communio and other publications. He and
other Jesuits serve God and the Church at a great intellectual level.
Francis Cardinal George referred to Bishop Sheets as his mentor when
they were at Creighton University. It can't get any better than that!

As for social justice and liberation theology, I'm sure Pope Francis'
predecessor's encyclical "Caritas in veritate" will be a good model,
especially in #58 where he teaches that the principles of subsidiarity
and solidarity must be applied in unison. Cardinal Dolan and Congressman
Paul Ryan are keen adherents to these principles.

Thank you Lord, for our wonderful new Pope! Let us be the salt of the earth with him.

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Strict adherence to doctrine is not typically a focus of Jesuits, and
Jesuit institutions are magnets for Catholics who disagree openly with
church orthodoxy on issues such as celibacy or female priests. But
neither do Jesuits tend to rally publicly against church teaching. Politically
speaking, Francis is an atypical Jesuit. As a cardinal in Argentina, he
led a public fight against same-sex marriage — reportedly after failing
to broker a deal supporting civil unions — and has said that gay
adoption is a form of discrimination against children. There are
no data on whether the typical Jesuit disagrees with the new pope (and
official church teaching) on matters such as gay marriage. But
questioning a Jesuit on hot-button sexual topics usually elicits a
nonjudgmental response. “We are called to encounter Christ in the
people we meet. The typical Jesuit starting point is the experience of
people,”Fr. Thomas Smolich, S.J. said. “Out of that, we might be more nuanced or more
sensitive or more compassionate, in terms of how various church
teachings are experienced by people in the pews.”

Now, for the first time in the church’s history, a Jesuit has been elected pontiff. Pope Francis, the former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, an Argentine of Italian
origin, has already set a new tone for the papacy. He is the first to
take the name Francis, in homage to Francis of Assisi, who abandoned
comfort to join beggars. In keeping with the Jesuit ideal to live
simply, Francis in his first days as pope dressed in a plain white
cassock. He opted to ride in a minibus with his fellow cardinals rather
than a private Vatican car. And on Saturday, he suggested a humble
course for the church as a whole. “How I would like a poor church,” he said, one that was “for the poor.” Given the Jesuits’ watchword to find God “in all things,” some are
hoping that the leadership of a Jesuit pope will allow the church to
engage more openly and fearlessly with the world, to project the
church’s message in new ways and to emphasize service

In a tribute to Pope John Paul II written after the Pontiff’s death
in 2005, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires recounted how
the Pope’s example inspired him to “recite the 15 mysteries of the
Rosary every day.”

“If I remember well it was 1985,” Cardinal Bergoglio wrote. “One evening
I went to recite the Holy Rosary that was being led by the Holy Father.
He was in front of everybody, on his knees. The group was numerous; I
saw the Holy Father from the back and, little by little, I got lost in
prayer. I was not alone: I was praying in the middle of the people of
God to which I and all those there belonged, led by our Pastor.”

“In the middle of the prayer I became distracted, looking at the figure
of the Pope: his pity, his devotion was a witness,” he continued. “And
the time drifted away, and I began to imagine the young priest, the
seminarian, the poet, the worker, the child from Wadowice… in the same
position in which knelt at that moment, reciting Ave Maria after Ave
Maria. His witness struck me.”

Cardinal Bergoglio added, in words translated by 30 Days magazine:

I felt that this man, chosen to lead the Church, was
following a path up to his Mother in the sky, a path set out on from his
childhood. And I became aware of the density of the words of the Mother
of Guadalupe to Saint Juan Diego: “Don’t be afraid, am I not perhaps
your mother?” I understood the presence of Mary in the life of the Pope.

That testimony did not get forgotten in an instant. From
that time on I recite the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary every day.

About Me

I am not a Jesuit, nor am I a cleric. I spent about 5 years under the spiritual direction of a Jesuit, 3 of those years in a weekly directed retreat in everyday life. The profound impact that the Society and the Excercises had upon my life, resulted in me, trying to deal with that impact in some way by sharing my view of Jesus Christ with others. My intention is to pull together Jesuitical and Catholic subjects that interest me. I was born on the feast day of St. Paul Miki, S.J.. I am the father of three small children and an infant, I am married to a great wife.